Commercial Appeal: Box office
Spellbound opened theatrically in New York on Halloween 1945, and the following week in LA, on November 8, 1945. It was then given wide release in the US on December 28, 1945. It earned huge rentals of $4,975,000 (over $10 million in America).
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Theatrical release poster
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Upon the film’s British release, it broke every box office record in London, in both famous theaters, Pavilion and Tivoli Strand, for a single day, week, month, holiday and Sundays.
Critical Response
A forward-thinking portrait of a professional woman battling for authority in a man’s world.
Newsweek’s review evaluated the film as “a superior and suspenseful melodrama;”
The N.Y Times wrote that the story was “a rather obvious and often-told tale … but the manner and quality of its telling is extraordinarily fine … the firm texture of the narration, the flow of continuity and dialogue, the shock of the unexpected, the scope of image—all are happily here.”
Variety wrote that Bergman gave a “beautiful characterization” and that Peck “handles the suspense scenes with great skill and has one of his finest screen roles to date.”
John McCarten of the New Yorker wrote that “when the film stops trying to be esoteric and abandons arcane mumbling for good, rousing melodrama, it moves along in the manner to which Hitchcock has accustomed us … Fortunately, the English expert hasn’t forgotten any of his tricks. He still has a nice regard for supplementary characters, and he uses everything from train whistles to grand orchestral crescendos to maintain excitement at a shrill pitch … All in all, you’d better see this one.”
Critical Status:
Spellbound placed fifth on Film Daily‘s annual poll of 559 critics across the United States naming the best films of the year.
RT rates the film 85% fresh, on 40 reviews: “Spellbound‘s exploration of the subconscious could have benefitted from more analysis, but Hitchcock’s psychedelic flourishes elevate this heady thriller along with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck’s star power.”
